predatory open access publishers
2024-12-04
1. predators and imposters
2. The definition challenge
Predatory journals and publishers are entities that prioritize self-interest at the expense of scholarship and are characterized by false or misleading information, deviation from best editorial and publication practices, a lack of transparency, and/or the use of aggressive and indiscriminate solicitation practices
Grudniewicz et al. (2019)
Figure 3
The DOAJ specifies wether APC for a given journal will be paid, and the amount of this APC
Figure 4
2. How can we recognize predatory practices in publishers offers?
very short review times : how can it be possible if the peer-review process is taken seriously
average duration of the peer review process :
MDPI CEO says they have recruited an army of secretaries to help the job being done quickly
Is MDPI too fast or the others too slow in their PR management?
Acceptance rate : MDPI > 41-50% of all submitted articles are accepted / others > 15-20%
retraction rate : MDPI > 213 papers cited in the retraction database (but comparable retraction rates among better-regarded publishers)
Kratochvíl et al. (2020)
Kratochvíl et al. (2020)
false indexation in bibliographic databases: POAP mimick the standard metrics and use misleading metrics
Delgado (n.d.)
the term was coined in 2012 by an iranian researcher, Mehrdad Jalalian Abalkina (2023)
usurpation of the graphic identity of a reputable journal by a journal that wants to attract either readers or authors (as in the case of Predatory open access publishers)
in case this quiz would not work in the presentation, you may play it online
in case this quiz would not work in the presentation, you may play it online
3. why some researchers willingly used journals considered as predatory?
:::{.incremental}{.r-fit-text} - Young Global South researchers think they are not enough experienced or equiped to publish in traditional journals Boukacem-Zeghmouri et al. (2023)1 - Predatory open access publishers publish whatever you submit, so they make it possible to publish negative data - APC are far cheaper than in traditional journals - In some countries, PhD students need to publish their paper before their defense (race against the clock) - The quantity of publications is still too often considered at the expense of their quality (publish or perish) :::
:::{.incremental}{.r-fit-text} - a publication in a predatory open access journal can be considered as a spot in your career - you may have real difficulties to recover rights on your submitted paper (republication) - the public money you gave to these scam journals should have been spent in a rigorous peer reviewing process - predatory open access publishers raise the level of distrust towards science among the public
considering this, a lot of universities (mainly from Global North), when they can prove that a publication was consciously made in a predatory journal impose sanctions against the researchers who made the publication. :::
Figure 6: Jeffrey Beall, author of the first POAP blacklist
it’s better to educate Academia where to publish rather than where to not publish
4. The grey zone
What the concept of predatory journals actually reveals is the deep inequalities between the scientific working conditions in countries close to the “centre” of global science, such as the UK and US, and those on its periphery
Low quality OA journals = predatory OA journals?
Figure 8: it’s not a black and white question
inflation of special issues: - more opportunities to publish for scholars under pressure (publish or perish) - more opportunities for publishers to get APC .- peer-review standards reduced Hanson et al. (2023)
5. The compass to publish
| figure | source et crédits |
|---|---|
| Figure 1 | Research Professional News |
| Figure 2 | Shark, by yosuke muroya, CC-by-nc |
| Figure 3 | Perrin, S. (2022, novembre 30). Beware predatory publishers! https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7380236 |
| Figure 4 | Perrin, S. (2022, novembre 30). Beware predatory publishers! https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7380236 |
| ?@fig-self_citations | Sarka Erben Johansson’s presentation on MDPI at the MUNI University 5/09/2023 |
| Figure 7 | source: Anonymous on Twitter based on Illustration by David Parkins (nature.com/articles/d41586-019-03759-y) |
| Figure 8 | The InterAcademy Partnership. (2022). Combatting Predatory Academic Journals and Conferences—Full report. InterAcademy Partnership (IAP). https://www.interacademies.org/sites/default/files/2022-03/1.%20Full%20report%20-%20English%20FINAL.pdf |
Most part of the software used for this presentation are “libre” software